Remote indicator driving attachment for gas metering devices



March 10, 1953 G. D. ZIMMERMAN REMOTE INDICATOR DRIVING ATTACHMENT FOR GAS METERING DEVICES Filed Aug. 50, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 6 my zmnskmu lax 9a rial/KEY G. D. ZIMMERMAN REMOTE INDICATOR DRIVING ATTACHMENT FOR GAS METERING DEVICES March 10, 19753 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1949 m i M w March 10, 1953 G. ZIMMERMAN 2,630,714

REMOTE INDICATOR DRIVING ATTACHMENT FOR GAS METERING DEVICES Filed Aug. 30, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED S TATE SQif- PATENT? OFFICE REMOTE'INDICAITOR DRIVING ATTACH-f MENT FORGAST.' METERING DEVICES This invention relates to gas "metering devicesw It is an object of the invention to'allow the meter reader to obtain a readin from themeter 1 from the outside of the house or a pointremovedr from the same, without impairing the measuring capabilities of the meter.

It is another object of the present'inventionii" to provide a meter adapted to be read from the exterior of the house or at a remote point wherein. the opening leaving the meter casing will be sealed so that should the parts of the meterbecome dis? engaged the gas collectedwithin the casing will. not escape to the interior of the building.

It is still another object of the present inven:

tion to provide a meter for measuringgas whereby the mechanism for taking the reading; is re-.

moved from the meter casing wherein should the measuring mechanism become impaired. the... meter will still function to deliver as, and wheree.

by the driving is effected through release clutches ,2

in the form of driving springs forming a partof the driving mechanism.,

It is still another object of the present inven:. tion to provide a meter having a removed Incas: uring mechanism wherein the installation of the. same is permitted without resorting to precision measurements whenthe device is ,placedinposition in the building and when-the meter reading mechanism is connected to the driving. parts of .5 the meter, and wherein the connection. of the .3 recording or reading mechanism to the meter. proper can be efiected'through a flexiblefshaftiylfl and made at a point removed from the meter... proper.

It is still another object of the present invention.

to provide an attachment for standard gas meter in devices which will permit the extension of an operating mechanism for the transmission of m'o..- tion effected by the measuring equipment to the.

terior of a building structure and tothe mease. .40 indicators whereby the taking, of the meter readings can be made from the exteriorof the r house. without necessity .of entering the.ho"use.,. and without the owner of the house or occupant... being at home.-

Other objects of the p-resentinventiori are 'to provide a gasmetering'device having 'anoperate; ing mechanisnradapted to extend ,througha building structure for connection with .thegindiei eating elements, which is of simple construction, .5

inexpensive to manufacture; easy to install compact, has a minimum number of parts, and em... cient m operation.

For other objects and;for.a better understand-n.1-

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional viewitaken line, 3-3 of. Fig. 2.

Fig.4 is a vertical sectional viewtalren on .line

4- 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig'..5.is a fragmentary elevational view oft'he countingmechanism.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view takenpn T line 8-6 ofFig. 5.

Referring now to thefigures, Ill representsl'a casingchousing .the. usual bellows devices .1! and I2 inwhich.areconnected inlet and outlet pipes.

within thercasing .lil along withthe bellows de.-' vices H and I21."

Theattachment .l 8 comprisesa frame 2 I which and the tightening of a nut 25 upon an externally threaded tube .26 extending througha hole in the casing) which has a projection of a .body 21 having a plate portionflilfthe frame ,2l willJbe fixed to the casing. The connecting body 21 has a hollow threaded portionti adapted to receive an internally threaded cap 32.? Within the 1101-.

1ow.portion.3i .is a spring 33 which acts between. platesfi l and .35,-that..surround. a drive shaft- 36:. This drive shaft is connected to a cable 38 withina hose exten-...

sion 39.. This cableis in turnfconnected. 10.3117. othershaft H to the end of whichis connected-1.

extending through. the body 2?.

a fittin ldz by meansof a setscrew 43.

The..COIlI'lECtiIlE-bOdYiTiS flanged by the plate...

portion 28 and will compress sealing washer 22 8".) through a metal plate 28' This sealing washen or gasket 28% prevents leakage froingtherspace within the casing along the inner-wall faceasur rounding the opening through the casingqAnq.

o-ther'gasket@253dsp1aced on the. exterior "face mg of the invention, reference may be' had to of the casing and is held in place by the washer H and i2'( for efiecting their operation. These i bellows devices are connected with a crank wheel It whichi's geared to a driven'gear l5 connected to a shaft l6 which in turn is connected through a driving spring H to the attachment indicated generally "at It embodying the" features of the. presentinvention. This attachment is mounted '1 24 as the nut 25 is tightened upon the body 21. Accordingly, the sides of the casing body wall will be tightly sealed to prevent leakage thereover- The sealing through the body 21 is effected as follows. In the hollow portion 3| of the body 2? is a gasket 3| which is held tight against the bottom of the opening in the body 21 by the spring 33 and by compression plate 35. This gasket surrounds the drive shaft 35 tightly. Within the cap 32 is a gasket 32 which is acted upon by the plate 34 and spring pressed by the spring 33. The plates 34 and 35 have a shoulder which acts as a seat for the compression spring 33. The plates 34 and 35 have respectively holes through the center of the same equal to the size of the shaft 36 to enable the plates to act as journals. The hole in portion 3| containing the plates and the spring is of square section and the plates are square so that rotation of the plates within the hole is prevented. The gasket 32' is held in place within the cap 32 by the tight connection of the cap with the portion 3|. The gaskets are all made of resilient and compressible material. The hole in portion 3| can be filled with a non-volatile liquid and one which has a low freezing point to prevent gas leakage and to provide a lubricant for the operation of the shaft in the plates 34 and 35 and in the body 27.

In assembling the arrangement, gasket 3| and plate 35 are first passed over the end of shaft 36 and pushed into the hole or opening of portion 3|. Thereafter spring 33 surrounding shaft 36 is introduced into the hole of portion 3| and is seated at one end on plate 35. Then plate 34 and gasket 32 are slipped over the shaft 36, plate 34 serving as a seat for the opposite end of spring 33. The non-volatile liquid may now be passed into the opening of portion 3| and thereafter cap 32 slipped over shaft 36 may be applied and tightened. The pressure of the spring 33 compresses gaskets 3| and 32' against the Walls of the body portion 3| and cap 32 respectively and also about shaft 36. This effectively seals the shaft 35 against the escape of gas from the galley or housing and at the same time allows the shaft to rotate. The liquid lubricates the shaft journal and also fills any minute pores in the shaft or in the gaskets 3| and 32.

On the exterior of the building wall there is mounted a casing 44 having an input shaft 45 I exterior of the building by screws 4l'.

To the body 21 and the projection 26'thereof there is connected a hose fitting 43 surrounding the cable 38. Surrounding the fitting 42 is an attachment sleeve 49, housing the fitting 42 and shaft 45 and to which is connected a fitting of the'hose 39 surrounding the cable 38. The cable 38 and the hose 39 can be of different lengths depending upon the thickness of the building wall. Likewise, the fittings 48 and 5| of the hose 39 can be adjusted to different positions upon the body 21 and the attachment 49 respectively. To have the shaft 35 run evenly within the threaded projection 26 and to provide for the coupling of shafts 36 and 4| there is provided a connector 52 having set screws 53 and 54.

7 To effect disconnection, access is had to screw 54 of the connector 52 through a hole 26 in the threaded projection 26 of the body 27 and is loosened.

At the rear end of the frame 2| there is 4 mounted a driving shaft 55 on upstanding struck up projections 56 and 51 of the frame 2|. This shaft has a large gear 58 connected to the same by means of a set screw 58'. The gear is held in place between the projections 56 and 57 and against forward displacement by engagement with the upstanding projection 55. The shaft 55 and the gear 58 are held against rearward displacement by a .set collar 59 on the shaft and abutting with the projection 56. This shaft 55 is connected through a driving spring 6| to a connecting member 62 which is in turn connected to the small shaft 36 by means of a set screw 63.

The frame 2| has depending projections or bearing portions 64 and 65 in which is journalled a shaft 66 carrying worm gear 67 meshing with the large gear 58. This worm gear is made secure on the shaft 66 by a set screw 63, Fig. 4.

On the outer end of the shaft 66 there is fixed a large gear 69 by means of set screw 7|, Fig. 4, and this gear is driven by a small pinion 12 connected to a shaft 13 also extending between the depending bearing portions 64 and 65.

The spring I! of the driving shaft leading from the bellows devices II and I2 is connected with the pinion shaft extension 14.

In operation, as the bellows devices H and 92 are worked, the gear l5 and the shaft [6 will be driven. This rotative motion will be transmitted through spring I! to the shaft extension 74 to rotate pinion 12. The pinion 12 in turn will rotate large gear 69 and worm 61. The worm meshes with the worm wheel 58 to drive shaft 55. From the shaft 55, after the reduction in speed has been effected from the reducing gears, there is transmitted through spring 6|, shaft extension 52, small shaft 36, cable 38, shaft 4| and finally shaft 45 of the measuring indicating mechanism indicated generally at 75 and disposed within the casing 44. This indicating mechanism 15 has the usual train of gears 16, dials H and indicating pointers l8. These dials in the indicator can be observed through a window opening '46 in the casing.

It will accordingly be apparent that the meter reading man can take the reading without having to enter the building. It should be further apparent that sufiicient adjustment can be had of the length of the various wires or shafts in passing from the facing in the interior of the building to, the exterior so that a ready adaptation can'be' madeof the apparatus to any building Wall width. It should be further apparent that the driving parts have sufiicient resiliency through the driving springs that there is little chance for the destruction of these shafts and that adequate reduction in the speed of the rotation of the various shafts for delivery to the in- It will be apparent further that the gear re duction'for the drive of the indicating or counting mechanism 15 is within the casing l6 so that the rotation of the shaft passing through the casing and the flexible cable 38 is kept to a bare minimum and the problem of sealing the opening through the casing is reduced." Accordingly, the seal effected by means of the gaskets inthe manner as above described will, because of the slow rateof rotation of the" shaft 36 effectively seal the casing and prevent the outward flow of gas therefrom and with little Wear. The spring couplings l1 and fil'serve not only as a couplingmeans between the drive shafts but also as overload clutches. The ends of the springs are merely tightly fitted about the shafts and upon an overload taking place in the system, the ends of these springs will be released and allow slippage whereby the parts of the mechanism will be permitted from becoming distorted or bent.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The improvement in a metering apparatus having a closed casing and a shaft rotatable in accordance with the flow of fluid therethrough, comprising a gear reduction attachment having a frame and adapted to be connected to the rotatable shaft, a bushing extending through an opening in a wall of the casing, a flange secured to the bushing and bearing against the frame of the attachment to hold the same in place within the casing, gaskets surrounding the bushing and disposed respectively upon the opposite faces of the casing wall, compression plates bearing against the gaskets and a nut upon the bushing securing the same tightly thereon and bringing the gaskets into tight relationship with the faces of the casing, said bushing having an intermediate portion with a small opening therethrough and enlarged openings in axial alignment therewith at the opposite sides of the intermediate portion, a small drive shaft extending through the bushing and the small openin of the intermediate portion, means for drivingly connecting the drive shaft to the gear reduction unit, a cap on the inner end of the bushing having an opening through which the small shaft extends, sealing means disposed within one of the enlarged openings in the bushing being retained therein by said cap, said sealing means comprising a spring surrounding said small shaft in the bushing, gaskets disposed respectively in the bottom of the enlarged opening and in the cap and surrounding tightly the small shaft, plates bearing respectively against the respective gaskets within the enlarged opening and said spring having its respective ends engaging the respective plates whereby fluid will be prevented from escaping around the bushing and along the shaft rotatable therein.

2. The improvement in a metering apparatus having a closed casing and a shaft rotatable in accordance with the flow of fluid therein "as defined in claim 1, and a connector in the enlarged opening in the opposite end of said bushing and rotatable therein, set screw means for connecting the small shaft to the connector, and set screw means adapted for the attachment of another shaft to the connector, said connector serving to hold said small shaft, against axial displacement toward the interior of the casing.

3. The improvement in a metering apparatus having an enclosed casing and a shaft rotatable in accordance with the flow of fluid therethrough, comprising a gear reduction attachment drivingly connected to the rotatable shaft and having a frame adapted to be connected to the interior of the casing, a bushing extending through an opening in a wall of the casing, means for securing said bushing to the casing and bearing against the frame of the gear reduction attachment to hold the same in place within the casing, said bushing having a small opening therein, a small shaft rotatable in said small opening of the bushing, said gear reduction attachment having an output shaft coaxially aligned with the small shaft in the bushing, said small shaft having a connecting member secured to it and axially spaced from the output shaft of the gear reduction attachment, a coil spring extending between the gear reduction output shaft and the connecting member with its ends overlapping the output shaft member and the connecting member and having frictional engagement therewith whereby to permit slippage between the gear reduction unit and the small shaft upon an overload being effected.

GEORGE DEWEY ZIMMERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,126,780 Jones Feb. 2, 1915 1,566,816 Carlson Dec. 22, 1925 1,840,218 Waddell Jan. 5, 1932 1,861,275 Hopkins May 31, 1932 2,094,711 Leininger Oct. 5, 1937 2,158,839 Smith et a1 May 16, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 63,609 Switzerland Nov. 4, 1912 

